BIOGRAPHY

Born into a musical family in Toronto, Canada, Constantine Caravassilis was raised in Pythagorion, a culturally rich UNESCO World Heritage town on the Greek island of Samos, off the coast of Asia Minor—the birthplace of the mathematician Pythagoras and the philosopher Epicurus. While formally studying Western music, he was equally shaped by his surroundings: playing atop ancient marble mosaics; wandering among ruins from the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman eras; living in proximity to engineering marvels such as the 6th-century BCE Eupalinian aqueduct, the so-called “Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World”; and growing up in the shadow of the protective castle walls of the tyrant Polycrates. The scents, icons, and vestments of nearby Orthodox churches and monasteries, together with the taste of sweet Muscat wine, further coloured his sensory and spiritual landscape.

Since his mid-twenties, Constantine has emerged as a fresh and forceful compositional voice, gaining international exposure through nearly 350 performances and close to 500 radio broadcasts. His works have been heard in major venues such as Carnegie Hall (New York), Jordan Hall (Boston), Southam Hall (Ottawa), Bunka-Kaikan Hall (Tokyo), Alte Oper (Frankfurt), the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Paris), Rundetårn (Round Tower) in Copenhagen, the Smolensk Philharmonic Hall (Russia), the Besední dům (Czechia), the Mustpeade maja (House of the Blackheads) in Estonia, the Athens and Thessaloniki Concert Halls (Megara), the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Manhattan, Palácio Foz (Lisbon), and the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts (Toronto), among others. His music has been broadcast on major radio networks including the BBC, CNN Türk, national broadcasters across Europe, public radio in Japan, CBC, Triton, and leading classical stations throughout the United States. His music has been performed in over thirty countries, including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Great Britain, Wales, Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, Serbia, Poland, Czechia, Italy, Romania, Austria, Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, Hong Kong, and Japan.

Constantine’s music has been premiered, recorded, and given frequent repeat performances—often with the composer himself conducting—by a rapidly expanding roster of internationally recognized chamber and orchestral ensembles. These include the Brno Philharmonic (Czechia), Roma Tre Orchestra (Italy), Ocfamus Orchestra in Monterrey (Mexico), the Athens (Friends of Music) Camerata Orchestra, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Winnipeg Symphony Chamber Players (Manitoba), L’Orchestre Prométhée (Paris), Tallinna Kammerorkester (Estonia), the Lions Gate Orchestra (Vancouver), the Tenth Muse Ensemble (New York), Concert:Nova (Cincinnati), the Toronto Concert Orchestra, the Penderecki (Canada), Caravassilis (France), and Cromano (Mexico) String Quartets, as well as the New Music, Opera, and Symphony Orchestral ensembles of both the University of Toronto and the University of Manitoba. His work has also been championed by the Canadian Composers’ Orchestra, L’Orchestre de la Francophonie (Ottawa), the Out of This World Orchestra and Opera 5 (Toronto), the Thirteen Strings of Ottawa, and the Orchestra of the National Ballet of Canada.

Constantine’s career is also distinguished by a series of residencies and guest appointments. He currently serves as composer-in-residence with Vuvivo Ministries in Tampa, Florida, where he is developing his First and Second Symphonies. Past roles include composer-in-residence with the Contemporary Opera Lab at the University of Manitoba and the Open Strings Festival on Lolland Island in Denmark, as well as composer/conductor-in-residence at the Harps on the Hill Festival in Ontario, and featured composer at the London Song Festival in the United Kingdom. He has appeared as guest composer and/or conductor with the Brno Philharmonic, Roma Tre Orchestra, Concert:Nova/Cincinnati Symphony Chamber Players, and Tallinna Kammerorkester in Tallinn, and has been invited as a visiting composer or distinguished visiting artist to institutions such as the University of Tampa, the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Monterrey, and the University of Nuevo León. In addition, he is in demand as an adjudicator and mentor, having served as juror for the Unionville Music Competition in Canada and senior adjudicator for the Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association.

Jazz & Tzaz has hailed Constantine as “the most important Hellenic-descent composer of his generation,” while the Toronto Star has described his music as “timeless,” and Ludwig van Toronto writes that he composes “music that earns our attention rather than requiring it.” Barzablog calls his work “visionary,” and Jon Gonder of the CALM Review notes of his solo piano output: “These are not the rhapsodies of Brahms or Bartok. Caravassilis’ approach to form is actually more rhapsodic in spirit than either of those masters.” Trillonquy describes his music as “visually pleasing; no one dares move, incredible!” and Jason Victor Serinus of Stereophile writes of his guitar concerto: “I can’t get enough of Saudade’s mysterious, wistful beauty, with iridescent touches punctuated by deep bass and fascinating percussion.”

A graduate of the renowned composition program at the University of Toronto, where he studied on a full fellowship, Constantine holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the same institution, with top-tier training in composition, conducting, and piano performance under some of Canada’s most celebrated performing artists and pedagogues.

He has received numerous top honours, including the Karen Kieser Prize in Canadian Music, the Harry Freedman Recording Award, the Epikouros Arts and Letters Award, the Diamond Award (First Prize) in the 2025 Claude Debussy International Music Competition for his double CD From Sappho’s Lyre, and three gold medals at the Volos International Composition Competition for his “profoundly mature style and highly individual compositional voice.” His work Apanthoposis for flute and tape won First Prize in the Canadian Composer category at the Syrinx Flute Festival, and he has been a prizewinner in the Mississauga Young Canadian Composers’ Orchestral Competition, as well as a finalist for both the RBC Emerging Artist Award and a Dora Mavor Moore Award. His music has also become a vehicle for success for emerging performers, with several young pianists earning national and international prizes performing his works.

In addition to several academic scholarships, Constantine has received extensive commissioning, travel, career development, and recording support from the Toronto, Ontario, and Canada Arts Councils, the British Arts Council, the Winnipeg Arts Council, Hereford Arts (NYC), and V3 Ministries (Florida).